Episode 1401: The Premature Celebration

Summary[]

Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Colin Poche, the “Is This Guy Good?” game for relievers, Mike Trout entering the All-Star break as baseball’s best hitter and player, whether Trout could ever have his number retired league-wide, the rate at which Trout is surpassing Hall of Famers in WAR, an old discussion about Derek Jeter jerseys and the popularity of Aaron Judge, whether catcher collisions and concussions could play a part in bringing about robot umps, Howie Kendrick and a myth about bat-dropping, Max Scherzer’s premature celebration, and more. Then they discuss the past, present, and future of the Home Run Derby, why this year’s Derby could be pivotal, whether the Derby could ever become a major standalone sport, shagging flies during the Derby, and other Derby details.

Topics[]

Home Run Derby
Could the derby become a standalone sport?
Changing viewership and engagement with the derby
What the derby could look like
Kids shagging balls in the outfield
Episode 1399 follow-up: median link players

Banter[]

Sam brings to light Jeff Sullivan's use of Poochie to describe Josh Hader (from Episode 1284) and excitedly notes that Colin Poche is almost a literal bullpen Poochie.
Episode 1375 follow-up: A podcast listener created a website to play the 'Is This Guy Good?' game
Mike Trout has a 186 wRC+ going into the All Star Break, the best in MLB
Episode 1389 follow-up: Universally retiring Mike Trout's number
Episode 759 follow-up: Aaron Judge and Derek Jeter jerseys at Yankee games
Mike Trout passed 8 Hall of Famers this month in career WAR. He has the potential to pass another 8 in July.
Sam is amazed at Tim Raines' stolen base efficiency. At one point in his career Raines had stolen 434 bases while only being thrown out 32 times (pickoffs excluded).
Howie Kendrick and where to drop the bat
Max Scherzer's premature celebration
Catcher injuries, concussions, and position longevity
Episode 1320 and 1321 follow-up: Winning the War on Fun in baseball

Email Questions[]

Jamie: "The shots of #99 jerseys also reminded me of a more recent episode - regarding what it would take for a player to have their jersey retired throughout the league. It was basically taken as a given that - like Robinson - a number would be retired because of some sort of social barrier being broken. However, neither Ben nor Sam mentioned the only other number that is retired in one of the big four leagues - Wayne Gretzky's number 99, which was retired throughout the NHL just because he was awesome at hockey. What would Mike Trout have to do to get his number retired purely for being the GOAT? Would a player who hit 1000 homers get his number retired?"
Andy: "Cervelli is the latest catcher to have to stop because of concussions. Do you think that this will be an important factor driving towards a robot strike zone? Even if you still need a catcher to do other defensive stuff, they could be farther back and in less risk of getting hit by the bat, foul tips, etc. Furthermore, I think MLB would want to get ahead of the issue so they don't end up like the NFL with many brain-injured former players."

Notes[]

Ben thinks the rarity of the Home Run Derby is part of what makes it compelling. He is skeptical about Sam's (admittedly unlikely) vision for how the derby could be expanded to become a standalone sport.
Sam thinks home runs are the most boring part of game recaps, because there is no surprise or suspense. But the derby is suspenseful.
Sam, on the simplicity of the derby, "Pretty much the only strategy for the home run derby is hit dingers."
Sam believes the big boost in prize money to $1 million takes the derby to a new level, since it's now "real money", more than the MLB rookie salary.
If the derby were to become a standalone sport, it would have to innovate to avoid being repetitive. Sam suggests that it could could take place in different locations (not limited to baseball stadiums) and have obstacles or increased pitch speed to create additional challenges. He would also like to see minor leaguers have an opportunity to participate (and win $1 million).
Sam remembers that the hottest show on television was once Who Wants to be a Millionaire, a very slow-paced quiz show. Ben opines that people will watch anything if there's enough money at stake, even if it's just a coin flip.
Ben describes the July 4 Google doodle, which was a baseball-like video game. At the start, you hit dingers easily, but at some point, the difficulty shot up significantly, and the game quickly stopped being fun.
In 1990 Ryne Sandberg won the home run derby with a combined 3 home runs. There were 5 hit in the entire competition, meaning that Sandberg outhit the entire remainder of the field.